Yukihira-Tadokoro Vs. Shinomiya Shokugeki
The Yukihira-Tadokoro Vs. Shinomiya ''Shokugeki'' is a notable Shokugeki between Sōma Yukihira and Megumi Tadokoro against Kojirō Shinomiya. It occurred during the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp to reverse Kojirō's decision to "fire" Megumi from the academy. This is the first unofficial Shokugeki shown in the series as no school official validated the challenge, however the conditions and process of the duel followed the standard Shokugeki protocol. Prologue During the second day of the Training Camp, Kojirō supervised his class and instructed them to create the Nine Vegetable Terrine from his restaurant menu. Giving the students 3 hours to cook the dish as stated on his recipe, he cryptically told them to consider everyone as their enemy since they will work solo on the dish. All of the students quickly began to gather their ingredients, bumping and shoving each other to secure the best of each of the vegetables that they could find. Megumi unfortunately was easily pushed aside by everyone, but she managed to secure several good ingredients. Unfortunately, the remaining cauliflower left for her were badly oxidized. Fearing that cooking with such ingredient would immediately result in her expulsion, Megumi revised Kojirō's recipe to accommodate this handicap. When she finally presented the dish, Kojirō said that the dish was tasty, but Kojirō "fired" her for revising his recipe without his permission. Sōma protested this, as he reminded the head chef it was his responsibility to provide quality ingredients. Kojirō then revealed he purposely put bad cauliflower out, meaning he unfairly decided to expel some students from the start rather than give them a fair chance. This angered Sōma, but Kojirō threatened to expel him as well. Angered by Kojirō’s arrogance, and Megumi’s tears, Sōma coldly challenged Kojirō to a Shokugeki for Megumi’s right to stay. Shocked by the sudden challenge, Kojirō rebuffed his challenge as he was unwilling to accept it as per the rules of a standard Shokugeki. However, as luck would have it, Gin Dōjima and Hinako Inui were passing by as the challenge was issued. After he brought Sōma, Megumi, and Kojirō to his office, Gin tried his best to change Kojirō's decision, acknowledging that Megumi's ingenuity is worth allowing her to stay, but Kojirō remained firm in his decision. Gin declared that an unofficial Shokugeki will be made to settle the dispute. Though Kojirō continued to refuse to take the challenge, Gin pressured him to accept. In reluctance, Kojirō bitterly accepted the challenge promising to reverse his decision if he lost the challenge. However, for compensation, Sōma had to leave Tōtsuki along with Megumi if they lost. After leaving the office, Megumi scolded Sōma for doing something so reckless. Breaking down into tears, Megumi could not figure out how to thank Sōma for giving her another chance and for believing in her, despite her shortcomings. Megumi asked why Sōma challenged him. Sōma responded that she is not someone who should drop out from Tōtsuki. Battle Megumi's First Shokugeki After completing their afternoon task, Megumi and Sōma arrived at the Tōtsuki Villa Annex Kitchen where Kojirō, Hinako, Donato Gotōda, Fuyumi Mizuhara, and Hitoshi Sekimori were waiting. Gin invited the latter three to serve as the judges for the Shokugeki as Hinako would be a biased judge. Using the remaining vegetables from the day's tasks, Gin declared that their dishes will use them as a basis. However, Gin added one last condition to Megumi's side: Megumi must be the head chef and Sōma must be the sous-chef, thus preventing him from having any input on their dish. Sōma asked why Gin did that, despite the fact that he issued the challenge. Gin refuted that the challenge was to prove Megumi's worth. He further stated that even if Sōma would win the challenge on her behalf, Megumi would not learn to stand on her own and instead rely solely on the abilities of others. The Shokugeki's true goal was to show what Megumi could do and not Sōma. Kojirō already decided on his dish and had gathered his ingredients while mocking Sōma for having Megumi as a partner. As Megumi began to prepare, Kojirō shot her an intimidating glare, causing her to tense up. As her fears began to get the best of her, Sōma stepped in, put her hands together, and clapped on them hard, breaking Megumi out of her trembling daze. Reminding her that her Onigiri that she made back at Polar Star Dormitory was good, Sōma told to make a dish that would best represent her, rather than to worry about Kojirō's dish. Megumi decided on a dish and the two began to cook. As they cooked, Megumi initially forgot to tell Sōma what to do, but he was already one-step ahead of her. Megumi finally got adjusted to communicating and telling Sōma what to do as he supported her decisions. As Megumi continued to lead, she noticed Sōma's incredible work ethic and speed, feeling like she was cooking faster than ever. Off to the side, the Alumni observed Sōma's incredible skill, noting that despite his young age, his skills were beyond that of a normal student. As time expired, Kojirō, Megumi, and Sōma put their finishing touches on their dishes. Judgement Time Kojirō presented his dish first, his Chou Farci. As the judges ate his dish, the reception is overwhelmingly positive. Noting the difficulty using savoy cabbage, the dish illustrated how Kojirō got his title as the Légumes Magician. As the judges along with Hinako and Gin ate his dish, they felt as if Kojirō had cast a spell over them like magic. The dish was excellent, but Gin was left unsatisfied as the dish Kojirō gave was not from his specialties. Kojirō smugly replied that he was simply holding back because his challengers were nothing more than students. Despite the fact that he claimed he would not be so merciless, the other Alumni thought otherwise. Seeing his arrogance, Gin hoped that Megumi and Sōma would exploit that arrogance as it was their only opening to take him down. It was Megumi's turn to present, but she began to tense up again. With a light push from Sōma, Megumi presented her dish, a Rainbow Terrine. Kojirō took this dish as a response to the very dish that was responsible for the duel. As the judges began to eat her dish, Megumi recalled her many memories of failure at Tōtsuki. Despite her fears, the judges enjoyed her dish, noting the variety of tastes in her dish as well as noting the ingredients related to her home region of Tōhoku. As the judges continued to eat the dish, they are reminded of numerous Japanese Yōkai. With Donato alluding her to a "Koro-Puk-Kuru", Hinako to a "Zashiki-Warashi" and Hitoshi to a "Snow Fairy". Touched that the Alumni praised her work, Megumi smiled to herself and Sōma smiled at Megumi's success. With the judging completed, Gin gave each of the judges one coin to represent a vote. The three judges one-by-one dropped their coin into one of the plates in front of Kojirō and Megumi. In a one-sided complete and utter defeat, Megumi and Sōma lost the duel. Megumi's Kindness and Hospitality In their crushing defeat, both Sōma and Megumi were mocked by Kojirō as he prepared to depart. As Megumi cried, Gin commended her on a valiant effort despite the odds and, in recognition of her efforts, placed a coin in Megumi's plate, much to everyone's surprise. When Kojirō asked Gin about his impromptu vote, he tossed a coin to him, asking if he has been stagnant all the time. Kojirō recalled his graduation as he declared that he would be the first Japanese chef to receive the Pluspol medal, a prestigious medal in French culinary. He faced much hardship and overwhelming discrimination which turned him into a ruthless head chef He reformed and ran his kitchen with the iron-fist and eventually achieved his goal. Gin further noted that Kojirō has not figured what to do now after his ultimate goal had been achieved, which caused him to refrain from showing one of his specialized dishes to hide his standstill. Enraged over the quote, Kojirō responded to Gin for pointing his flaws better than himself, only to be halted by Gin who made him eat Megumi's dish to prove his point. Kojirō reluctantly ate the dish and nitpicked the dish's faults at first. In mid-sentence of his critique, he was compelled to take another bite. Megumi's dish pierced his cold heart and reminded him of his childhood. Tears fell from his eyes as he's reminded of the love and warmth given to him by his mother. Kojirō unconsciously dropped the coin into Megumi's plate as he asked her if she used allspice. Megumi affirmed that she used it, not only for its ability to remove the bad smell of the liver, but also to aid the Alumni's digestive system since they had been eating all day. Hinako and Donato were touched by her kindness and Gin asked Kojirō if he had ever considered such hospitality during his ascension to the medal. As Kojirō realized that he had been cooking "alone", Hinako added one last coin to Megumi's plate, rendering the duel a tie. Gin left the final decision to Kojirō, who accepted that Megumi's hospitality was worth keeping in Tōtsuki. The Conclusion Gin spoke to Megumi after the conclusion of the duel, telling her to continue to cook with her "hospitality" as her primary weapon. Knowing that she will continue her journey at Tōtsuki, Megumi finally broke down and cried tears of joy as Sōma comforted her. Off to the side, Gin and Hitoshi discussed about Kojirō's long running standstill and Gin's reason for his intervention. According to Gin, he claimed that as Kojirō climbed towards his goals, he cut away things which he felt were unnecessary, but eventually cut off the ability to absorb things around him. At the same time, when he stood at the peak, he did not know what to do next. In the aftermath of the duel, Gin felt that he had reclaimed the ability to learn from others and to dream of something else. Finally Megumi picked herself up and the two left the kitchen. Megumi realized that the Shokugeki took up the rest of the afternoon and noticed that she got a ton of messages from everyone from Polar Star Dormitory, worried about their disappearance. Megumi thanked Sōma for helping her in her hour of need before Sōma told her to hurry and return to the hotel without him. Left alone, Sōma punched the wall nearest him while mulling over the bitterness of his defeat. Though Sōma did not lose the duel, he did not win as he was trying to do. Gin watched as Sōma's frustration unfolded from above and remarked that Sōma's "defeat" in the duel will prove to be an enlightening experience for his growth as a chef. Aftermath The Shokugeki affected all three chefs. Megumi's self-confidence improved, allowing her to easily pass the 80 meal task for dinner, complete the 200 Breakfast Buffet Egg Dish Challenge, and eventually earn her very first "A" on a school assignment on her own. She even became a participant for the Autumn Elections. During the Autumn Election Preliminaries, Megumi envisioned Sōma doing the hand clap technique to help her make it through the challenge. Kojirō gained the resolve to seek something else, this time making his restaurant in France a 3-Star restaurant while aspiring to build a relationship with his workers. Sōma experienced his first "defeat" in Tōtsuki and used the experience to keep himself in check as well as now realizing how impressive Tōtsuki really is, with his view that his journey in the academy will bring excitement in his life. On the final day of the camp, the rivals were reunited in the hotel lobby. Kojirō wished both Megumi and Sōma well during their life at Tōtsuki as he returns to France in order to pursue his new goal in life, earn a 3 Michelin Star rating for his restaurant. As he left, he gave one last look at Sōma, sensing his potential to become something great at Tōtsuki. Trivia *This is the first 2 vs. 1 ''Shokugeki ''featured in the series. Category:Shokugeki Category:Training Camp Arc Category:Event